The Twenty Seventh Day of December
by Uma Yearly
Summary: It was the twenty-seventh day of December—just another regular day, according to Hyuuga Hiashi. It didn’t matter that exactly sixteen years ago, his first child was born. Perhaps the ghosts of the past Hokage could help him have a change of heart. N/H
1. Prologue

**The Twenty-Seventh Day of December**

_Summary_: It was the twenty-seventh day of December—just another regular day, according to Hyuuga Hiashi. It didn't matter that exactly sixteen years ago, his first child was born. Perhaps the ghosts of the past _Hokage_ could help him have a change of heart. NaruHina. AU.

_Disclaimer: _The characters, setting, situations, etc. from the _Naruto_ manga/anime belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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**Prologue**

Hiashi Hyuuga was working on some paperwork when he heard his eldest daughter's soft footsteps stop before the sliding door to his office.

"Father," her quiet voice floated through the paper of the shoji. "Forgive me for interrupting. May I speak with you?"

"Enter," he commanded distractedly, as he continued to read through a scroll. With gentle care, the shoji was slid open to reveal a young woman with long, midnight-blue hair dressed in black Capri pants and a lavender jacket. Hiashi did not even look up as he heard quick, silent footsteps make its way towards him.

"Good morning, Father," she greeted. Finally, he raised his head to see his daughter bowed before him.

"What is it you need, Hinata?" He watched as she straightened her back but kept her head slightly bowed down.

"I…I wanted to remind you that I would be gone all day, Father," she said almost shyly.

"I remembered," he said indifferently. "What time will you be returning?"

"I'm not sure, Father. But I'm certain I would be returning late. Perhaps after midnight."

"Very well. Neji will be with you, correct?" he asked rhetorically. "Remind him that you are in his care and that he is not to return home without you."

"Yes, Father," she said meekly. Then she took a deep breath and raised her head. Her eyes met his. "Father, would it be all right if I brought Hanabi with me?"

"Did she express any interest in wanting to go?"

"W-well," Hinata stuttered, her courage starting to fail. "No, she didn't. B-but I was going to ask her after getting your permission."

"Nevermind, Hinata. If she wanted to go, she would have asked me herself." Hiashi knew that was a lie, and he knew Hinata knew it as well. Hanabi would never admit to wanting to attend a festive gathering like that, especially when she knew that their father would prefer she trained instead. "Is that all?"

Hinata tilted her head down dejectedly, breaking their eye-contact.

"I…Well…." Hiashi watched as she struggled with her words. Then she sighed hopelessly. "Yes, Father. I will leave for my party now."

"Go," he commanded, and he caught the hurt look on Hinata's face before she turned and walked out of the office.

Hiashi felt a twinge of guilt. After all, he knew why Hinata looked hurt, why she _really_ came into his office that morning: She wanted him to acknowledge her Sixteenth Birthday. Hiashi sighed and pushed the guilt aside. There were more important things to worry about, like the paperwork that lay in front of him.

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As usual, Hiashi retreated to his bedroom at around 10:00 that night. By 10:30pm, the lights were turned off and he was lying in bed, ready to sleep. But just before sleep overtook him, his ninja senses were alerted to something amiss. He sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. Suddenly, his room began filling with thick fog. Remaining calm, he activated his Byakugan to find the intruder who was causing this, but the chakra that filled the fog hindered that attempt. Just as he was about to get out of bed, something wrapped tightly around his torso, his upper arms, his wrists, and his ankles and pulled him back onto his bed trapping him there.

"Release me!" Hiashi yelled angrily. He struggled against his bonds to no avail. "You will not get away with this! Guards! GUARDS! _GUARDS!_"

Laughter filled the room. Hiashi could discern two separate male voices. He tried to pinpoint their location, but it was no use. Their laughter was coming from all directions.

"No one can hear you, Hiashi-chan," one of the voices said jovially. The fog suddenly dispersed. And there, standing by Hiashi's bed looking down at him with twin smiles were the First and Second Hokage.

_TBC_

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A/N: Yup, I'm going to attempt to write _A Christmas Carol _(Charles Dickens) based _Naruto _fanfic. Don't know if it's been done before, but oh well. Please review.


	2. Ch 1: Hokage of Birthdays Past, part 1

**The Twenty-Seventh Day of December**

_Summary_: It was the twenty-seventh day of December—just another regular day, according to Hyuuga Hiashi. It didn't matter that exactly sixteen years ago, his first child was born. Perhaps the ghosts of the past _Hokage_ could help him have a change of heart. NaruHina. Hyuuga-centric. AU.

_Disclaimer: _The characters, setting, situations, etc. from the _Naruto_ manga/anime belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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**Chapter 1: Hokage of Birthdays Past, part 1**

"What sort of sick genjutsu is this?!" demanded Hiashi. "Release me!" He struggled against his bonds again but stopped when they tightened painfully around him. Looking down, he noticed that the bonds were actually tree vines.

"This isn't a genjutsu, Hiashi-chan," said the Second Hokage, who crossed his arms. "Hashirama-niisan and I are…well, we're more like _ghosts_. Or spirits, whichever you prefer."

"You think I'd believe that absurdity!" Hiashi spat back.

"Calm yourself, Hiashi-chan," commanded the First Hokage gently. "Your emotions are blinding your judgment. Let me point out that your Byakugan is still activated. You should be able to see through any genjutsu."

"That doesn't mean anything," Hiashi argued. He wasn't going to admit that he did in fact see the chakra coils of the two beings in front off him; and that it did not look like an illusion technique has been cast. "Of course your people would have come up with a powerful genjutsu that would be able to fool our Byakugan. You wouldn't have been able to get this far into the compound otherwise. I must _commend_ you on your accomplishment," he stated sarcastically. "But Konoha will never let you get away with kidnapping me!"

The Senju brothers were silenced in surprise for a second before doubling over in laughter.

"Kidnapping you?" asked the Second Hokage incredulously when he was able to catch his breath. "You think we're kidnapping you?"

"Now, now, Hiashi-chan," said the First Hokage patronizingly. "If we were from an enemy village and wanted to kidnap a member of the Hyuuga's main branch, why would we attempt to kidnap the most powerful Hyuuga when it would be a lot less troublesome to kidnap his daughter?"

Hiashi felt fear strike his heart. "Leave Hinata out of this!" he yelled and tried to struggle against the vines, but again it was no use.

"I'm surprised. For a second, you sounded like you cared about your eldest," said the First Hokage bitterly. Then he continued in the same condescending tone. "But you needn't worry about her. Hinata-chan is currently at a party being thrown in her honor by the most powerful person in Konoha—the Toad Sage who just happened to also be the Kyuubi's container. Also in attendance are my beloved granddaughter, the Fifth Hokage, and the Heads of the Inuzuka, Aburame, Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans along with their heirs and heiresses. Shizune and Sakura Haruno, two of the greatest medic-nin Konoha has ever produced, after my granddaughter of course, are also present. The Kazekage and his siblings and several of Konoha's finest jonin and chuunin are also at that party. I daresay that your daughter Hinata-chan is the most protected Hyuuga at the moment."

"He was not speaking about Hinata-chan," continued the Second Hokage. "He was talking about Hanabi-chan. But you don't have to worry. No one is being kidnapped tonight."

Not knowing what else to do, Hiashi reevaluated his situation. Undoubtedly, he was trapped. He could not break the hold the vines have on him. A silencing jutsu or seal must have been placed in the room since no one outside could hear him. He was relieved that his eldest daughter was currently not within the compound, but the relief vanished as he recalled the vulnerable state of his youngest. Hiashi concluded that the only chance of escaping and/or surviving his predicament would come if he cooperated.

"If…" Hiashi swallowed to try to get the malice out of his voice. "If you are not here to kidnap me, why are you here? Who are you?"

"There you go!" exclaimed the Second Hokage going back to his jovial self. "That's better. See, you aren't so bad when you aren't yelling like an arrogant fool." Hiashi's eyes narrowed at the jibe, but the First Hokage spoke before he could argue.

"I am Hashirama Senju, your First Hokage. And he is my younger brother Tobirama Senju, your Second Hokage," he said. "The purpose of our visit is to warn you."

"Warn me?" asked Hiashi, choosing to ignore his introduction. "About what? Is someone after me and my family?"

"We are here to warn you about…_you_. More specifically, your actions and attitudes in regards to Hinata-chan." Now Hiashi was feeling indignant. This…_illusion_ had no right to question his parenting. He was ready to argue again, but the First Hokage went on. "Look, we are wasting time. Whether or not you believe we are who we say we are is irrelevant. But, it will be a lot more comfortable for you if you stop struggling." At that, the First Hokage made a hand sign and a tree grew from where Hiashi lay, destroying Hiashi's bed and wrapping its trunk around his lower body and arms. The tree grew tall, bringing Hiashi to a vertical position.

"All right! Let's get this show started, shall we?" said the Second Hokage loudly.

"Wait!" the First Hokage yelled. But he was too late. His brother had already lifted his hands and brought them together in a loud clap. Waves of chakra pulsed from his clasped hands and grew outward in a circle from where he stood. Slowly, the room began to fade away, leaving the three men in darkness for several seconds. Suddenly, light flooded the room, causing Hiashi to quickly shut his eyes. When his eyes finally adjusted a few moments later, Hiashi found that they were no longer in his bedroom. Instead, they were at the entrance of the Main Branch family's formal dinning room. But what caught Hiashi's interest was the state of the dinning room.

Fancy lanterns of soft lavender and pink hung from the ceiling. Expensive silverware and china were set for nine places on the elegant table. The room _felt_ different to Hiashi—warmer somehow; livelier.

"What is this?" he asked in awe.

"_This_," the Second Hokage said, "Is the reason we've come to visit. You see, several of us _up there_," he said pointing up towards the ceiling, "And especially your late wife Haruhi-chan, are unhappy with how you've been treating Hinata-chan."

Hiashi's head snapped towards the Second Hokage. "Haruhi?" he said in surprise and wonder.

"Yup," said the former Hokage, and he began to walk into the dinning room and towards the far end of the room, where he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. The First Hokage followed after him and stood with perfect posture by his brother's side. And as he was walking, the tree holding Hiashi followed. "Before you ask," continued the Second Hokage, "No, Haruhi-chan's not coming. And, personally, I think you should be happy she isn't. She's as sweet and kind as an angel could get. That's why Kami allowed her this one request, though she couldn't carry it out herself. But sweet as she is, she is intent on using all the lightening-based jutsu she knows on you. I believe her exact words were, 'If I ever see that Hiashi, I am going to fry his bits off!' It was hilarious hearing that coming from a usually soft-spoken woman," he paused to laugh at the memory. But he quickly sobered up, "Then again, she is the mother. Not even death could take that away. She will always be Hinata-chan's mother."

At this point, Hiashi didn't know what to say. He was in a daze. Too much was said, so many things that seem extraordinary, that he was having trouble processing everything.

"Look, I know this is all confusing," the First Hokage said, "But just bear with it. By the end of the night, you will understand everything. Right now, you have to listen to me. There are some things you should have been told before my brother prematurely got _this show started_," he glared at the Second Hokage, who just grinned sheepishly back at him and shrugged. "But now that the memory has begun, it can't be helped. Besides the two of us, you will be visited by the ghosts of the other two past Hokage. Our mission is to show you events centered on the one day dedicated in honoring your eldest daughter: The twenty-seventh day of December—Hinata-chan's birthday. We will also be able to answer any questions you may have. Tobirama and I are about to show you Hinata-chan's birthdays that have come to past."

"Hey, Hiashi-chan," called the Second Hokage, gaining the Hyuuga's attention. Then he nodded towards the opposite side of the room. "Here you come." Hiashi looked towards the entrance to see a younger version of himself walk proudly into the dinning room. As that younger version stepped aside, his breath got caught in his throat. There, looking as beautiful as he remembered, was his wife.

_TBC_

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Thanks to those who put my story on alert, and especially those who reviewed. Thank you!!!!


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